Gott’s serves a bunch of different burgers with varying cheese options, bacon, avocado, mushrooms, etc. On top of that, they also serve fish tacos, chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, and salads. To go along with those items they have fries, onion rings, soup, and chili. They also serve shakes, beers, wine, and soft drinks.

A cheeseburger with fries and a soda costs about $13.

Cheeseburger and fries.

When I went on a Saturday, it was pretty busy and we waited about 10 minutes for our food. No big deal. I picked up the food from the counter and returned to our table.

At first glance, all of the toppings were sticking out of the wrapper in presentation-mode and weren’t evenly distributed for eating-mode. A little disappointed with that. I quickly readjusted all of the toppings and took a few bites. It was pretty good! Their secret sauce was a little runny but it was tasty.

I didn’t realize that their burgers don’t come with fries. At $8, I assumed (wrongly). Luckily I stole some of Erica’s fries (which apparently came with her $6 chicken tenders meal). The fries were pretty normal, but I had no problem with them. I also got a cup of chili to taste, and quite liked it! It was just the right amount of spicy.

A minor nitpick about water cups: I got water instead of soda this time, and I feel like when you get water anywhere they give you a smaller cup to distinguish between soft drinks. Gott’s water cup was tiny. Like airplane cup tiny. I had to refill it quite often. It’s almost like they assume I’m drinking significantly less than someone who ordered a soda.

Gott’s was a good joint and I’d be happy to visit again, but the next time I’m up at the Ferry Building, I want to try 4505 Meats. I hear they have a killer burger.

Steak ‘n Shake serves Steakburgers, which are ground beef steaks. In addition, they also serve chili, chicken dishes, salads, and famous milk shakes. Steak ‘n Shake has an vast array of different shakes to choose from. There are seven classic shakes, ten specialty shakes (with candy and cookies), and side-by-side shakes which are two flavors poured into the same glass, side-by-side.

The Original Steakburger Double ‘n Cheese with fries and a drink will come to about $6. But since you’ll want a shake instead of a soda, it’ll be $7 total.

The Frisco Melt and fries with cheese.

Every Steak ‘n Shake I’ve ever been to is open 24 hours which is perfect for late-nite cravings. The wait during lunch rush might be only 10 minutes to be seated, but the food typically comes out pretty quickly anyway.

I usually get the Frisco Melt: two Steakburgers with American and Swiss cheeses on butter-grilled sourdough bread with Frisco sauce. It’s absolutely delicious and I ate it three times in the single week I’ve been in St. Louis. I love the shoestring fries too. They’re very thin and crispy, but also soft.

I’ve never had a Steakburger sandwich fall apart on me, the cheese and sauces usually keep it completely solidified together, which is both kind of gross and amazing.

The shakes are totally worth getting, though they are enormous. However, with a burger and fries in front of you, I’d suggest getting a “kiddie size” shake unless you’re really hungry.

A little background on “Umami”: it’s one of the five basic tastes which sits alongside sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. Umami is commonly referred to as “savoriness.” Foods rich in this flavor are cured meats, mushrooms, tomatoes, and cheeses. Umami Burger adds these ingredients to their burgers in an effort to create a wonderful taste.

Umami Burger has a bunch of different combinations and often has specials as well. Their menu includes a Manly Burger (beer cheddar, onion rings, bacon), Cali Burger (American cheese, lettuce, tomato), and the San Francisco special: a Bacon-Wrapped Scallop Burger. There are also fries, sweet potato fries, onion rings, and salads.

A Cali Burger with fries and a drink will cost about $16.

Cali Burger, Fries, and Umami Ketchup.

We waited about 15 minutes to be seated at the counter and we waited about 15 more for our food. Fries came before the burgers, a good 3 minutes or so. The fries were alright, and although they were better than average, they weren’t completely amazing. However, Umami offers five different condiments: Umami Ketchup, Dijon Mustard, House Spread, Roasted Garlic Aioli, and Jalapeño Ranch. I got the ketchup and ranch for the fries, and they were both great. The ketchup has a distinct taste. I also tried a really spicy Habanero sauce.

I ordered the Cali Burger, which after a single bite started to crumble. It was definitely tasty, I just wish I could keep the sandwich together. A few bites in and I started to dip it into the other sauces. The Habanero sauce was great but it was much spicer than the Jalapeño Ranch which would be more suited for sensitive tastebuds. The burger was the perfect size. Not too large or small.

They place their U-stamped burgers on plates and don’t wrap them, so watch out for falling bits of your sandwich. I had no problem picking up the pieces though because it was very yummy.

A samurai sword on display.

Umami Burger has a decent selection of beer, wine and some specialty sodas (I got a Black Cherry Soda).

We arrived a little after noon, and there was a line of only about 4 people. That being said, the line was pretty confusing, as it wraps once in the restaurant, but there’s not enough space, so it looks just like a cluster of people.

The menu is pretty vast. They have Deluxe burgers, Mini burgers, Estancia burgers, Kobe burgers, Buffalo burgers… then they have some specials with teriyaki sauce or habanero or mushrooms or pesto… the list goes on. They also serve hot dogs, turkey, chicken, and veggie sandwiches as well. What delighted me the most was that they serve “Frings”, which is a combination of fries and onion rings. They also have Springs which are sweet potato fries coupled with onion rings. I cannot stress how much they have on their menu.

A Deluxe cheeseburger with fries and a drink will run you about $12.

Deluxe Burger with cheese and bacon.

After my name was called (we got it to-go), I received an unmarked paper bag inside of a generic “Thank You” plastic bag. It wasn’t branded, and the addition of the plastic bag was weird.

I took a few bites into the burger and noticed that it was kinda watery. The burger seemed juicy, but not flavorful. It just tasted pretty bland. There was no seasoning at all, just a burger patty. I also realized that they didn’t toast the bun either. The bun wasn’t great to start with, but because they didn’t toast the bun all of that wateriness soaked into the bun and make the whole sandwich moist and no-good.

The fries seemed over-fried. Like four times. They were definitely below-average. Too crisp and too crumbly. The onion rings were a disgrace. They fell apart and felt extremely cheap.

But that’s not all. As we were walking into the place, I saw a delivery man wheel in boxes of frozen fries. Boo.

All in all, it wasn’t a great experience. It wasn’t completely horrible. I’d have it again, but with Super Duper a few blocks away, I’d rather walk a little further to get something a lot better.

We went to go sit at the bar and ordered some drinks. After looking over the menu, it didn’t seem that the Cheeseburger came with fries. I asked and it doesn’t. I don’t quite understand how you can serve a burger without fries.

I ordered their tomato soup while I waited for the meal. The soup was great. I honestly could have eaten 8 bowls of it. But that’s not what I came here for.

The Cheeseburger costs $14.

The Cheeseburger had a much larger bun than the patties, which is a huge no-no.

The burger arrived a little later and it was not what I expected at all. I must have glanced over the doubleness of the burger on the menu, but that’s fine with me. What shocked me was that the bun was wider than the burger patties. It’s a damn shame because as I picked it up to eat, the burger patties slid around and I couldn’t get a first bite in with something other than just bread.

The fancy sauce was delicious and the burger was tasty too. However, it was incredibly difficult to eat. After a few bites, I went to set the burger down and noticed a huge pile of grease on my plate. I knew setting it down would mean the bottom bun soaking up all that grease. Ew.

Turns out that they serve a side arugula salad and a pickle spear in place of fries. The salad didn’t go with the burger at all. A salad is never an appropriate substitute for good fries.

Some claim it’s the best burger in Portland, but I respectfully disagree.